Pommes Darphin, Uni, and Jalapeño Recipe

Servings: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 ½ hours

for the pickled jalapeños and shallots:
4 ⅓ cups|950 grams filtered water
2 cups|450 grams unseasoned grain vinegar
⅔ cup|100 grams kosher salt
¼ cup|50 grams granulated sugar
3 jalapeños
2 medium peeled shallots

for the Darphin:
1 pound 5 ounces|600 grams frying potatoes, such as a Kennebec, peeled
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup|150 grams clarified butter or ghee

for the assembly:
2 ½ ounces|75 grams pickled jalapeños, finely chopped
2 ½ ounces|75 grams pickled shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon|15 grams yuzu kosho
3 ½ ounces|100 grams uni (preferably from Hokkaido or Maine)
flaky sea salt

1. Make the pickled jalapeños and shallots: Combine the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Let cool to room temperature and pour over the jalapeños and shallots. Cover and refrigerate. Let sit at least 24 hours and up to 2 weeks.
2. For the Darphin: Slice each potato lengthwise into slices about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, then again lengthwise into strips ⅛ inch (3 mm) wide. (You should have a pile of matchstick-like pieces—they don’t need to be perfect, irregularity is okay here.) Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Don’t worry about squeezing the liquid from them unless you are doing this in advance and have a lot of liquid that’s leached out.
3. Heat half of the clarified butter in an 8-inch (20 cm) nonstick frying pan (preferably one with high sides) over medium. Add the potatoes and use a spatula to tuck the edges in, creating sides all around in a hockey puck shape about 1 ¼ inches (3 cm) tall. Keep cooking, rotating the pan occasionally to prevent hot spots, and continue to tuck in the edges, preventing stray pieces of potatoes from escaping and creating a clearly defined edge.
4. Cook until the bottom is evenly golden brown, 5–7 minutes (use the spatula to lift up a side to check the color—it should be about the color of McDonald’s hash browns). To flip, remove the pan from the heat and place a large plate or pot lid on top of the pan. Using towels to protect your hands, flip the pan so it’s on the top and remove the pan. The potatoes should be golden brown side up on the plate.
5. Add the remaining clarified butter to the pan and return to medium. Gently slide the potatoes back into the frying pan, golden brown side up, and continue to cook, doing that same spatula tucking thing as before to keep its hockey puck shape (contents may have shifted in transit, so be sure to tuck in any stray pieces of potato). Cook until that same deep McDonald’s golden brown, another 5 minutes or so.
6. For the assembly: Once the Darphin is ready, cut it into 4 equal slices. Combine the pickled jalapeños, pickled shallots, and yuzu kosho in a small bowl. Spoon a bit of this onto each Darphin slice and top with uni and flaky sea salt. That’s it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This recipe has been reprinted with permission of the authors from the book A Very Serious Cookbook.

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